pats players reaction to Branch trade

[PatsFanInVa]

They hate their coach.

LOL... yeah you knew that was coming.

I posted elsewhere something to the effect of "lay off Seymour" on this one... just let it go, I am sure he (and for that matter, Brady) will let it go. They are professionals. We're not there, we don't know how much one or another departure stings, or the cumulative effect.

I'm just saying, business is business, but that doesn't mean sometimes it doesn't hurt (no matter what we thought of Branch's antics by the end.) Remember, before this holdout, he was a great guy for the locker room, for the team, etc. He's not some kind of monster, he's just a guy who made a business decision. It looks like it finally did work for him, for that matter. He didn't want to be what the Pats need at WR - an interchangeable #2 among interchangeable #2s. The antics got silly, but he got out.

Still people get attached to each other and you can't build a team without that. You want a locker room full of robots (as other team's fans complain that the Pats are anyway?) Both Tom and Sey, the two most valuable players ON this team, have spoken out at various times about how much they miss Branch, so they're really feeling this.

So cut these guys some slack, will ya? Let's not turn on the guys who bring home the trophies -- all he's saying is he misses 83. He's human, he's got feelings, the negotiations are over... give it its due and move on.

PFnV

 

[dhamz]

I think it is only natural for the players to be upset by this. The players consider themselves a Super Bowl contender. The team has enormous amounts of cap space and just traded away its best WR over $ and got nothing that will help them win this year in return.

The Pats may have made the right move for the LT future of the franchise but players care about today. Many of them won't be around when that pick we got for Deion makes an impact.

 

[Sean Pa Patriot]

But did they think it was just going to be normal?? Its like he has not been here all summer

 

[PlattsFan]

What, you guys expected the players on the team to take management's side? Let's be realistic about the Patriots: they are cold-hearted when it comes to players' worth. They'll set a price they think a player should be paid, and that's what they intend on paying. They give no real consideration to paying guys just because they "are everything the Patriots say they want" or any other consideration. They cut loyal veterans when they aren't performing up to the contract as they see it, and they'll not pay a player more just because he's a hard-worker/good guy, etc. Many applaud that attitude; it's almost assuredly the best strategy for building a consistent winner in the salary-cap NFL.

But the days of "home town discounts" from the players is almost assuredly over. The way the Patriots do business with players has consequences; players won't feel any loyalty to the management of the team. Some, like Brady, might leave a few dollars on the table because they want to win, but Brady's a QB, he can make that money up in endorsements and longevity of career. Many, many others are going to take a cold look at the situation, think about what an extra 5 million or more means to the future of their families, and they'll take that money. I probably would, too. I doubt I would've gone through all the antics of Deion Branch, but I surely would drive as hard a bargain as I possibly could, and I'd go to another team if necessary.

We, as fans, take the situation for what it's worth. The Patriots management is excellent at putting a good team on the field, and that's the most important thing for me, in the end. But, it's naive to not recognize that they can be stone-cold bastards when it comes to negotiating. And, especially for certain positions like WR, they're going to lose a lot of players because they value the position less than do the other teams in the league.

 

[Sean Pa Patriot]

I dont expect for them to be we love managment, but to say its like they did not see this coming, is a little too much..

 

[marty]

What, you guys expected the players on the team to take management's side? Let's be realistic about the Patriots: they are cold-hearted when it comes to players' worth. They'll set a price they think a player should be paid, and that's what they intend on paying. They give no real consideration to paying guys just because they "are everything the Patriots say they want" or any other consideration. They cut loyal veterans when they aren't performing up to the contract as they see it, and they'll not pay a player more just because he's a hard-worker/good guy, etc. Many applaud that attitude; it's almost assuredly the best strategy for building a consistent winner in the salary-cap NFL.

But the days of "home town discounts" from the players is almost assuredly over. The way the Patriots do business with players has consequences; players won't feel any loyalty to the management of the team. Some, like Brady, might leave a few dollars on the table because they want to win, but Brady's a QB, he can make that money up in endorsements and longevity of career. Many, many others are going to take a cold look at the situation, think about what an extra 5 million or more means to the future of their families, and they'll take that money. I probably would, too. I doubt I would've gone through all the antics of Deion Branch, but I surely would drive as hard a bargain as I possibly could, and I'd go to another team if necessary.

We, as fans, take the situation for what it's worth. The Patriots management is excellent at putting a good team on the field, and that's the most important thing for me, in the end. But, it's naive to not recognize that they can be stone-cold bastards when it comes to negotiating. And, especially for certain positions like WR, they're going to lose a lot of players because they value the position less than do the other teams in the league.

"cold hearted, and stone-cold bastards" seems a bit strong to me. Are they all warm and squishy? Certainly not. But they take a pragmatic and business like approach to their team and act responsibly. They've always spent to the cap up till this year and I expect they'll do so again. I seem to recall them taking good care of Tedy, that rook that blew his knee(Edwards?), and I don't think they added a year to Ben Watson"'s contract to make up for the rook year he missed.
They don't overuse their players, in fact some feel they are too careful or slow to return some players to the field after injuries. To me that shows they invest in a player's future, not burn it up.
To my knowledge, they always worked within the parameters of the CBA, yes? They spread the money around the players to create a solid core benefiting the entire team. Yet they've gotten this rep of being "cheap", "cold hearted" etc,etc. Why is that?

 

[prov pat]

To the poster who called me a newbie and doubts the "83 times worse" quote by Seymour, check the Providence journal today - it's right there for you. In fairness, the writer says that Vrabel and Seymour had different reactions - Vrabel was clearly ready to move on but Seymour was still very upset.

I guess it would be naive to think that a player would blame another player for this situation, but I just can't believe Branch would get any sympathy from his teammates. Branch has every right to look after his own interests - after all, that's what most of us do - but that doesn't change the fact that he was both contractually and morally wrong to do this when he did it. He put himself above his other contractually bound peers in a year when he should have been committed fully to the team, thus why would any member of that team be sympathetic? Deion's actions were a slap in the face to his teammates.

 

[DefenseRules]

To the poster who called me a newbie and doubts the "83 times worse" quote by Seymour, check the Providence journal today - it's right there for you. In fairness, the writer says that Vrabel and Seymour had different reactions - Vrabel was clearly ready to move on but Seymour was still very upset.

I guess it would be naive to think that a player would blame another player for this situation, but I just can't believe Branch would get any sympathy from his teammates. Branch has every right to look after his own interests - after all, that's what most of us do - but that doesn't change the fact that he was both contractually and morally wrong to do this when he did it. He put himself above his other contractually bound peers in a year when he should have been committed fully to the team, thus why would any member of that team be sympathetic? Deion's actions were a slap in the face to his teammates.

Good post. My brother said something interesting to me last night. He said that the Patriots are no longer a team, they are a group of individuals. He called the players a bunch of hypocrits for running out on the field as a team when they support a guy who put himself above the team, and clearly didn't buy into what they are supposed to stand for. He said that Brady is the biggest hypocrit, because he said that you have to sacrifice for the good of the team if you want to play here, but he publicly supported a guy that didn't give a damn about the team and sacrificed nothing.
I thought that it was kind of harsh, because afterall the NFL is a business. And judging an entire team based on the actions of one person is a little over the top, IMO. But I understood why he saw it that way. There are a couple people in my office who said the same thing to me this morning.

 

[Pats726]

I think it is only natural for the players to be upset by this. The players consider themselves a Super Bowl contender. The team has enormous amounts of cap space and just traded away its best WR over $ and got nothing that will help them win this year in return.

The Pats may have made the right move for the LT future of the franchise but players care about today. Many of them won't be around when that pick we got for Deion makes an impact.

How upset were the players that DB wasn't in camp sitting out?? What did they expect?? Duh...If they were at all surprised by this, I don;t think they are that smart..what do they expect a Front Office to do when a player fails to negotiate and fails to report??

 

[Roxbury Jay]

Yeah Deion is going to be real depressed, with that 39 Million dollar contract... If he wanted to stay , he could have signed the deal which will equal to about the same money he will make in Seattle.. But he is gone the team is very down and out. So Dont feel sorry for Meion

4=12????

I guess that's what your wife or girlfriend tells you.

 

[Pats726]

Good post. My brother said something interesting to me last night. He said that the Patriots are no longer a team, they are a group of individuals. He called the players a bunch of hypocrits for running out on the field as a team when they support a guy who put himself above the team, and clearly didn't buy into what they are supposed to stand for. He said that Brady is the biggest hypocrit, because he said that you have to sacrifice for the good of the team if you want to play here, but he publicly supported a guy that didn't give a damn about the team and sacrificed nothing.
I thought that it was kind of harsh, because afterall the NFL is a business. And judging an entire team based on the actions of one person is a little over the top, IMO. But I understood why he saw it that way. There are a couple people in my office who said the same thing to me this morning.

I think we will see if this is a TEAM or not very soon....

 

[dhamz]

How upset were the players that DB wasn't in camp sitting out?? What did they expect?? Duh...If they were at all surprised by this, I don;t think they are that smart..what do they expect a Front Office to do when a player fails to negotiate and fails to report??

I think most likely many of them were very upset he was out of camp but I think you are kidding yourselves if you think most of them were mad at Branch. The team has an enormous amount of cap space left. Players are not going to agree that it is best to save it for the future when many of the players on this year's team will be retired or elsewhere.